The gameplay stutters slightly in minor ways, and the visuals in major ways; but we still found this to be irresistible to put down. If you're the type of level-headed gamer who values fun over graphics,or you nd some mates are looking for a great co-op game, then we'd say the bludgeontastic Dead Island is a bash well worth your cash. [November 2011 p70]

[T]here are people playing Anarchy Reigns – but there's not a lot of them, and they're all a million times better than you. The terrible shame of it – and the dilemma for us – is that it's pretty obvious Anarchy Reigns would be incredible if only it could only attract more players. Battling it out with the bots, we often saw glimpses of what could've been, and were always left wanting more. [January 2013, p66]

In the end, its linearity, lack of gameplay diversity, and the low latency feel of your in-game actions all conspire to trip this tiny dancer up. Wait for it to become a PlayStation Plus freebie. [November 2016, p78]

Having a plethora of events is all for nothing if it’s just a blizzard of deja vu. If you can’t keep the grind compelling, you’ll freeze players out in no time. [February 2016, p80]

An easyish “yes” to fans of the first. A total “no” to newbs. [October 2014, p80]

All-in-all the features add up to a game that is one of the best replications of the real thing thus far, especially with some top notch presentation. Just watch out for those damn ghosts. [November 2013, p85]

Well worthy of the 2.0 in its moniker. Bigger, bolder and bursting with unlockables and emergent DIY fun. [November 2014, p75]

Arkham City is arguably the best superhero game ever made, so it makes sense that Beenox would look to it for inspiration. And while The Amazing Spider-Man seldom succeeds entirely in emulating the accomplishments of its illustrious antecedent, it makes a pretty decent fist of it, for the most part. [August 2012, p72]

Expected features like continuing from the middle of the stage are absent, probably to expand the slender content as much as it can, but it clearly has a heart of gold and lashings of style. You'll like it more with a co-op partner, but Scott Pilgrim is much better. [November 2012, p79]

Sadly, not a lot of love has gone into cleaning up these remakes. The time capsule is rusty, but there’s enough old school challenge and timeless dark humour to justify a buy. [March 2013, p79]

Not as woah-ful as the screenshots make it look. [March 2015, p79]

Think: a cheaper, slightly nastier version of 2008's Pure, and you're not too far off the track. [July 2012, p83]

There are some great moments, but they're few and far between. [July 2009, p.80]

Armageddon is by no means a bad game, it's just a completely different one to what series fans will expect, or possibly want. Unfortunately, in returning to its underground roots, Volition has forgotten to capitalise on what their series does best: geo-modding the crap out of everything in sight - minimum restrictions. [August 2011 p80]

There’s depth here – you can tool about with settings, text chat to your engineers and view race telemetry – but it will frustrate some. The racing itself, though, is good. SBK fans will likely have a lot of time for this title. Solid, but not for everyone. [Aug 2009, p.68]

[W]e put the controller down (during a 'gameplay' sequence) and watched in stunned frustration as the game continued on happily playing itself for six minutes. It's inconceivable that there are gameplay levels that cannot be failed or be changed by your actions. Even Dragon's Lair, the game that birthed the concept 29 years ago, had consequences. [April 2012, p66]

A head-on collision of Dynasty Warriors’ combat and Monster Hunter taxidermy. Shines in co-op. [April 2014, p73]

The problem is the level design in the game is absurdly old hat. While there are a handful of mission types, like Direct Action, Covert, and High Value Target, the levels they take place in and the related objectives are painfully bland. "Move to this point and activate this switch. Now go down the stairs and activate this other switch." Blah, blah, blah… [April 2012, p73]

Greatness was so close, and yet so far. [August 2017, p75]

Get Even needed to get even better to be more than a chocolatey handful of our favourite things.[August 2017, p76]

Solid and respectable enough of the source material to be a fan-pleaser. Feels like button-bashy busywork to anybody else. [September 2014, p81]

A visual feast that won't sate you if you if you're a sim-leaning soloist. Offers social, arcade fun in spades, however. [December 2014, p68]

The graphics are solid, the level design more than adequate and the game itself surprisingly fun. Plus it’s AU$15.95 – so unless you loathe tournament shooters you might want to grab this one. [Sept 2009, p.79]

Konami will want to get Team Silent back for Silent Hill 7, we think. [Apr 2009, p.74]

Escape Plan feels way too barebones an experience. There aren't many gamers out there who'll want to revisit and three star puzzles they barely fumbled through the first time due to iffy controls. [April 2012, p74]

Portal Knights takes the blueprint and gives it more of what we always wished Minecraft had: deeper combat and a series of quests that give us a greater sense of purpose. [September 2017, p77]

CCP hasn’t adjusted the game’s free-to-play Oculus Rift structure, however, despite the game costing $79 on PS VR, and the resulting grind to acquire everything is spirit-sapping. [January 2016, p80]

On a technical level, sadly, Zombi disappoints. That said, Zombi is saved by an evocative world and a few innovative features that make it feel newer. [December 2015, p71]